MacKenzie Porter and Her Husband, Jake Etheridge, Share Beautiful New Song, ‘Happy Ever After You’ - and Luke Combs Approves

Husband-and-wife duo, MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge, have taken to TikTok to share a beautifully stripped-back new song, ’Happy Ever After You’, with fans and fellow artists alike calling for Porter and Etheridge to release the track in the coming weeks.

In the original video of ‘Happy Ever After You’, the ‘Chasing Tornadoes’ hitmaker explained that, although she first became acquainted with Etheridge through their shared love of music, this is actually the first track they've penned together in a decade.

Porter revealed in the caption to the sparse, intricate offering, “I met my husband songwriting but we hadn't written a song together in over 10 years...until last night”.

Each lyric of ‘Happy Ever After You’ is laced with yearning, with MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge's soulful harmonies really enhancing the sense that, despite the fact that the two protagonists in the story are trying to navigate a painful break-up, there's still a deep-seated longing to fall back into one another's arms.

Jake Etheridge, who releases solo music that leans towards folk, brings a level of sparseness and an acoustic ambience, which combines powerfully with MacKenzie Porter's signature Nashvillian lyrical flourishes and ear for a knock-out melody.

We're not the only ones who love ‘Happy Ever After You’, with a flurry of artists expressing their admiration for the track in the comments. Luke Combs, for instance, gushed, “Hey. This is really damn good”, with MacKenzie Porter endearingly responding, “Ummm wow I just died 🥺🥺🥺 massive massive fan”. ERNEST, Ashley Cooke, RaeLynn, Ella Langley, Hannah McFarland and Charly Reynolds were among the other country artists underlining how awesome ‘Happy Ever After You’ is.

Prior to sharing ‘Happy Ever After You’, MacKenzie Porter had been teasing fans with other unreleased solo tracks, which take on a decidedly more pop-infused, beat-driven texture that feels closer to the vibe of her 2024 album, Nobody's Born With A Broken Heart. Given the reception of her new duet with Jake Etheridge, Porter has been hinting at the prospect of the two teaming up to become a duo, as well as - excitingly - confirming that ‘Happy Ever After You’ will be released soon.

For the full lyrics so far to MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge's ‘Happy Ever After You’, see below:

“I got an old half-pack of black Pall Malls

I can smoke ‘em now, won't get no shit at all

I got half a mind to give you a call

But I ain't chasing after you

-

There's a little more room in my chest of drawers

I got a fist-size mark in my bedroom door

I got half a mind or probably more to cover up this old tattoo

-

I got a hole in my heart damn near the size of Texas

And I think you left it

I got a picture of you and me circa 2019

Don't know why I kept it

I got a story I tell myself until my face is in the blue

But I got no happy ever after you”

For more on MacKenzie Porter, see below: